ANA Reports Results of Cipoletti Evaluation
An independent performance evaluation of American Numismatic Association Executive Director Chris Cipoletti has concluded that ANA staff strongly supports his leadership and the direction in which he is taking the association.
The evaluation, commissioned by the ANA Board of Governors and conducted by human resources consultant, Personal Management Systems, measured Cipoletti’s job performance and leadership skills.
“This board, like the past two boards that hired Chris as executive director and evaluated his performance, is very pleased with Chris’ performance,” said President William H. Horton Jr. “He has followed the direction set by this and prior Boards in elevating and moving the Association forward and advancing the ANA’s mission and vision.”
As part of the assessment, PMS interviewed 12 ANA employees, some of whom were selected by the Board and others at random. The identities of those selected were not released to Cipoletti, and employees were assured that the information they provided would not be disclosed in any identifying way to Cipoletti or the Board. Interviews were conducted by PMS staff, and additional anonymous feedback was accepted afterward.
Cipoletti’s “Leadership Competencies,” which asks those responding to assess a person’s skills in leading an organization, resulted in a cumulative average of 2.93; ratings of 2.50 and above reflect positive results in this category. In the area of “Leadership Challenges,” which asks those responding to assess a person’s success at addressing organizational challenges, Cipoletti was rated with a cumulative average of 1.58; ratings of 2.50 and lower reflect positive results in this category.
During the interviews, staff members strongly indicated that they trust Cipoletti, find him to be a person of integrity and believe he has strong business acumen; communication with staff is good and staff clearly sees the vision and mission of the ANA advancing in a positive manner. “This interview process demonstrates that the staff sees Chris as someone with business acumen and with planning and organizational skills,” said Horton. “They have found Chris to be effective as the executive director of the ANA.”
The interviews identified that staff members believe that Cipoletti has a great vision and great ideas, but they feel that the speed with which he attempts to implement changes at times leads to unattainable timeframes being established. This is an area where Cipoletti will look to improve his skills and effectiveness over the next year, Horton said.
“This process has been very beneficial in helping me understand some of the challenges that staff members face, particularly as we attempt to move the Association forward at a fast pace,” Cipoletti said. “It has helped me recognize that I need to spend additional time with staff working together to establish realistic timelines to accomplish our goals. By spending additional time with staff, we will all have buy-in and, hopefully, everyone on staff will feel that there is a reasonable amount of time to accomplish existing responsibilities and tackle new projects. The same is true making sure that as an organization we spend more time with ANA members discussing the programs we are growing and the changes we are making. This should help assure that all who are interested have a voice in the process.”
The interviews confirmed the Board’s assessment and support of Cipoletti’s performance as ANA’s executive director, said Horton, who cited several accomplishments under Cipoletti’s leadership including: increasing net assets by 21.5%; developing an organizational strategic plan; implementing policies and procedures for financial reporting; creating a marketing and brand development strategy; increasing educational programs; implementing processes to obtain direct feedback from the membership about needs and expectations; expanding museum programs and exhibits; expanding the ANA’s global presence and global partnering; developing strategic partnerships with industry leaders; implementing new organizational publications; beginning newsstand distribution of Numismatist magazine; substantially growing museum attendance; expanding participation in conventions; and opening dialogue for the opportunity to have museums and libraries on both coasts of the United States.
Said ANA Vice President Barry Stuppler, “The ANA Board of Governors is very pleased with the progress Chris has made for the ANA and fully supports Chris’ implementation of the plan that we have jointly developed to move the ANA forward as a leader in numismatic education, a world class museum and library and a renowned nonprofit organization supporting numismatic collectors at all levels.”
Originally Release Date: January 22, 2007
ANA Contacts: Phone: 719-482-9864
Email: pr@money.org